This post-conference aims to tap the unique collaboration between the Environmental, Political and Health Communication Divisions. Our goal is to bring together scholars, grad students, and practitioners to engage in a meaningful dialogue about the current state of and the prospects for climate and sustainability campaigns.

We seek submissions that address the spectrum of climate and sustainability campaigns from diverse perspectives, methods and subfields within communication. We define campaign broadly as a strategic course of action, undertaken during a predefined time limit, involving communication, which is carried out for a specific outcome (Rogers & Storey, 1987). Through this post-conference, we hope to highlight the links between environmental and science communication, political communication, and health communication.

Rationale

Anthropogenic climate change has now come of age as a widely recognized global risk and a profound peril to the health and wellbeing of human and nonhumans alike (Maibach, Roser-Renouf & Leiserowitz, 2008). It demands global responses and actions to reduce its threats (Beck, 2010). According to one recent analysis, climate legislation is unlikely without a large, well-orchestrated and sustained climate movement and climate action (Skocpol 2013). The aim of this post-conference is to help shift research on climate communication from its early focus on media coverage of climate change to mapping and understanding the global terrain of climate and sustainability campaigns waged by diverse actors across the world, and targeting various audiences.

Generally, we identify two types of overlapping campaigns: public communication campaigns and advocacy campaigns. Public communication campaigns are usually waged by institutional actors who attempt to inform or influence behaviors in large audiences within a specific time period using an organized set of communication activities. A public communication campaign features “an array of mediated messages in multiple channels generally to produce noncommercial benefits to individuals and society” (Rice & Atkin, 2013, 3). Advocacy campaigns are often, though not always, waged by non-institutional actors, aim for more systemic transformation and seek to change external conditions such as a policy decision or project (Cox, 2013, 213).

What kinds of climate campaigns are promoted by governments and other institutional actors? How does citizen activism sustain climate adaptation efforts in specific localities? What kinds of campaigns are waged by Environmental NGOs and other NGOs as a response to the climate challenge? What are the affective and cognitive precursors for climate activism? What are the relevant frames for climate campaigns? Who is affected by such frames, via which affective and/or cognitive processes, and regarding what types of behavior or other relevant outcomes? What climate-related behaviors do campaigners aim/prefer to change? How do specific national environmental policies or other relevant country-specific factors affect campaigns and/or their impact on audiences? How are these campaigns covered in the media?

This post-conference seeks to improve our understanding of campaign types, scope, organizational nature and actors, topics, goals, strategies, tactics, capacities, effects, audience psychology, and similar relevant issues. We hope to pave the way for additional prospective research on this topic.

Topics

We welcome a diverse range of manuscripts. Possible topics include but are not limited to:

· Climate justice campaigns

· Environmental NGOs and NGOs advocacy campaigns

· Health and climate campaigns

· Importance of celebrities in campaigns

· Legislative lobbying campaigns

· Public engagement campaigns

· The role of opinion leaders in campaigns

· Visual components of campaigns

· Campaigns focusing on consumer behavior or the marketplace

· Campaigns that seek to bridge different stakeholders and goals (i.e. ones that connect issues of health, environment and politics)

· Affective & cognitive effects of campaigns

Submission guidelines

Submit extended abstracts of 1,000 words maximum (Word or PDF formats) to Lucy Atkinson (lucyatkinson@austin.utexas.edu). Please submit 1) a separate title page including the paper’s title and author’s details (name, title, and institutional affiliation) and 2) an anonymized abstract including the topic, theoretical framework, method and preliminary findings. Abstracts must be received no later than November 15, 2014. Acceptance decisions will be made in early January 2015.

We are exploring options to turn accepted papers into a special issue of a high quality journal.

Venue

TBA

Rate

$100 or less (we are seeking external funding to help defray the cost)

The Environmental Communication Division invites submissions dealing with all aspects of communication related to the environment and nature. The Division aims to advance research on the interplay between the environment and any level of communication (interpersonal, group, intergroup, organizational, mass, global) and in any setting (education/instruction, leisure/gaming, economic, legal, and so forth). Research on health, risk, and science communication issues related to the environment are especially germane. Topics can include environmental rhetoric and discourse, visual and textual representations of the natural environment in popular culture or journalism, political communication on environmental issues, critical animal studies, public participation or interactions in ecological decision making, environmental campaigns and green marketing, scientific sense-making about nature, and the impact of communication technologies and communication on environmental technologies, etc. The Division welcomes work from any perspective (critical, cultural, ethnic/minority, feminist) employing any research method motivated by sound research questions on environmental communication: these can be philosophical/theoretical, historical, as well as applied research and conceptual, performative, and/or empirical presentations.

The Division will accept the following types of submissions:

Full papers (maximum 10,000 words plus tables, charts, and references, 12-point type minimum). If you want your paper to be considered for a poster session, please indicate that when you submit your paper.

Extended abstracts of 1,000 words for the High Density Session on Climate Change and Sustainable Development Communication in Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

The aim of the High Density Session is to promote research on climate change and sustainable development communication in low-lying coastal areas, in line with the UN effort to raise awareness about the unique challenges of climate change and sustainable development in SIDS. In this context, the UN has declared 2014 the International Year of Small Island Developing States. The venue of ICA 2015 is especially appropriate for this special session—Puerto Rico, a SIDS, and a member of the Alliance of Small Island Nations (AOSIS). Completed papers are due in mid-April.

The session will be divided into two parts: the 8 speakers will present their work first, and then, the participants will be split into small groups for discussions with the speaker of their choice. For additional details, please contact the session organizer, Jagadish Thaker <cnmtjj@nus.edu.sg>

Panel proposals. Include panelists’ names and background, abstracts of papers (150 words each), and a justification (400 words) that explains the importance of the topic and its interest to ICA members. Also include a 75-word panel description for the conference program. Panels can contain up to four papers. The group will consider panel proposals that employ novel formats to expand participation, mentor junior scholars, promote graduate student research projects, and advance similar aims. To encourage an international perspective, panel proposals that include presenters from different countries will receive priority.

Top faculty and student papers will receive recognition awards at the group’s business meeting. Some student travel funding awards are available. To be eligible, student authors must indicate their status (see the Awards section for more information.) Again, see the full 2015 ICA CFP rules and regulations.